Submitted by Gary Kohls
1] Dangerous 5G Microwave Radiation May Be Coming to a Neighborhood Near You – Unless
By Alliance for Natural Health – July 7, 2021 (2051 words)
https://anh-usa.org/microwave-neighborhoods-coming/
How a little-known rule could alter your neighborhood and endanger your health.
The federal government has ensured that 5G can come to your neighborhood whether you like it or not. A recent rule change allows the telecoms industry to turn consenting private residences into cell towers, endangering the health of the neighborhood. The only way to fight back is to talk to neighbors who may be considering adding an antenna to their house to inform them of the facts that industry is conveniently leaving out.
Our previous coverage provides more background on the OTARD rule, an acronym for “over the air reception device.” Originally, the rule prohibited local municipalities from restricting the installation of satellite dish antennas and other antennas on private residences for reception of TV signals; it didn’t apply to devices that also transmit signals. The FCC recently implemented changes to the rule that allows industry to install wireless transmitting antennas on private homes; and since this would be done on private property, it circumvents the need for companies to meet local zoning and environmental requirements. There is also no requirement to notify neighboring property owners. The OTARD rule has thus been changed from a pro-consumer rule to a pro-industry rule.
Telecom companies are now reportedly going around neighborhoods with deceptive offers like: “Earn $600 – Get paid for doing nothing while helping your community. Be the first person to provide Internet of Things coverage in your neighborhood.”
For some, this may be a tempting offer. Industry may even offer benefits like free internet…but they may also charge you for the electricity used by the antenna. We just don’t know. But it is certain that wireless companies are not telling property owners that they could be held liable if their neighbors experience negative health effects due to the radiation coming from these antennas.
While the telecoms industry has insisted for decades that cell phones, and now 5G networks, are completely safe, there are mountains of evidence to suggest otherwise. We’ve covered a lot of this evidence in previous articles linking EMF radiation to altered metabolism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, DNA damage, impaired sperm function, cognitive impairment, neurological damage, and many more health conditions.
For these reasons, insurers rank 5G EMF radiation as “high risk,” and due to these risks, most insurance plans include an “electromagnetic field exclusion”—that is, insurance plans do not cover injuries related to wireless radiation. Telecoms cannot offer homeowners insurance against liability from the antenna causing physical harm to others because this insurance doesn’t exist.
Unless immediate action is taken, we will be exposed to radiation generated by wireless devices on an unprecedented scale. Especially concerning is that 5G networks that are being rolled out use short millimeter waves, which cannot travel as far as longer waves. This means that more “small cell” towers are needed to create a network, which is why the telecoms industry needs to turn private homes into cell towers. Some neighborhoods would see dozens of small cells installed, all of them emitting microwave radiation. These towers will also emit the lower 4G frequencies, since 5G rollout is still ongoing.
There are particular dangers with 5G networks. We’ve pointed out that Israeli researchers found that our sweat ducts act as antennas for millimeter waves, meaning we would absorb more of this energy into our bodies. Millimeter wavelengths are also used in crowd control systems, making people caught in the high-powered millimeter wave feel like their skin is on fire. No independent research has confirmed the safety of 5G networks.
The US government’s own National Toxicology Program released the results of a $30 million, ten-year project looking into the link between cell phones and cancer. It concluded that “there is clear evidence that male rats exposed to high levels of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) like that used in 2G and 3G cell phones developed cancerous heart tumors.” Again, 5G networks dramatically increase these exposures due to the increased number of “small cells” which will blanket neighborhoods with EMF radiation.
An additional issue is that it’s nearly impossible to effectively sue the wireless companies themselves. A close look at city and municipal contracts shows that it isn’t Verizon, for example, doing business, but a smaller LLC that is created by Verizon to do business in a particular location. This insulates Verizon from being liable for huge amounts in damages. If a lawsuit is successful, you’re raiding the coffers of a “Verizon New York, Inc.” or a smaller company “doing business as” Verizon. ANH is, however, joining Safe Technology Minnesota in submitting an amicus brief in support of Children’s Health Defense’s lawsuit challenging the FCC for adopting the OTARD rule changes.
A better strategy is to engage with neighbors considering telecoms offer of satellite installation and asking questions: are they aware that insurance against health effects from EMF radiation doesn’t exist? If a neighbor, or neighbors’ children, get sick from the radiation emanating from the antenna on their house, can they afford a legal defense? Are they aware of the myriad health dangers associated with EMF radiation? Are they on the hook for the electricity taken up by the antenna? Perhaps proactive action to discuss the issue with neighbors before the industry makes the offer can inoculate neighborhoods from industry propaganda. Friendly but frank conversations about this issue may be the only way to prevent your neighborhood from being blanketed with EMF.
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2] How to Oppose 5G “Small Cell” Towers in Your Neighborhood – and Why
“We need a moratorium on 5G, and we need to reduce dangerous wireless radiation throughout our communities.”
http://emfsafetynetwork.org/how-to-oppose-small-cell-5g-towers/
5G, or fifth generation cell phone technology requires an entirely different cell tower system. Adding to the existing macro cell towers are “small cell” towers planned for nearly every other block. In some cities, like Sacramento CA. 5G is already installed and many other cities have applications pending. The following information is focused on the “small cell”, but the “how to oppose” can apply to larger towers too.
The Federal Communications Commission and the federal government have been promoting and supporting rapid expansion of 5G. Some states have already passed laws forcing them onto communities. However people are pushing back and defeating installations. When neighbors and community resist towers can be stopped. In Seaside California 5 cell towers were denied. In California SB649, which would have restricted cities ability to regulate 5G, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown.
The industry wants wireless everywhere with “small cell” towers every couple hundred feet apart! That means cell towers in our neighborhoods, near schools and parks, where we live, work and play. The industry vision for 5G is to enable the Internet of Things, Smart Communities, driverless cars (and more), where roads and appliances (even baby diapers!) are embedded with wireless radiation transmitters that connect to cell phones, smart meters and the internet.
“small cell” tower in Santa Rosa CA. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)
There’s already too much harmful wireless radiation in our environment. People are already getting sick from wi-fi, cell towers, smart meters and cell phones. Peer reviewed published science shows harmful effects of cell tower radiation include: fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, anxiety, ringing in the ears, heart problems, learning and memory disorders, increased cancer risk, and more. Studies found wireless radiation harms trees, birds, bees and insects. (See links to studies in this letter.)
Hundreds of scientists and public health experts are calling for a moratorium on 5G. They state, “We the undersigned, more than 180 scientists and doctors from 35 countries, recommend a moratorium on the roll-out of the fifth generation, 5G, for telecommunication until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.”
5G would use a combination of microwaves and millimeter waves, which are scientifically shown to harm people and nature. For more information on 5G see What is 5G?
We need a moratorium on 5G, and we need to reduce wireless radiation throughout our communities.
Artwork by Shelley Masters
Oppose 5G! The following information has been compiled to help you stop 5G to protect your neighborhood, community, people, pets, and environment. Are you new to activism? If yes, listen to Zen of Mom’s Across America as she explains how to organize against 5G, See Episode 4
- Keep a watch on your [city or county] planning or permit department for applications for “small cell” towers. You’ll need to call the city or county to find out who handles the telecommunications applications. Note they might deny the “small cell” is 5G but call it 4G instead. 4G small cell are the precursor to 5G and should be opposed.
- Educate and engage the community about EMF/wireless health risks. Here is a brochure about EMFs, a Stop 5G fact sheet and a Stop 5G bee flyer you can use to start a conversation. Mobilizing other people to get involved to take action is important. Even a few people can make a big difference. It is important to educate decision makers on the science of harm, because this will motivate them to find ways to deny the application. People can also argue aesthetics, location, loss of scenic views, property devaluation, and no significant coverage gap.
- If you live in California: This legal letter from Best Best and Krieger, outlines what a California community can do to legally deny “small cell” towers in the public rights of way. * April 24 2018 Letter to EMF Safety Network re small cells. Update: FCC WT Docket 17-79 went into effect on 1/13/2019. This info is not included in the above letter. The order adopts: new deadlines [shot clocks] for actions on small cell applications; limits on fees and rents that can be charged for small cells; new standards governing when a locality can say “no”; new standards for permissible aesthetic, under grounding, and spacing requirements. (Please note: BBK’s letter and smart meter representation have been helpful to us, however we have received complaints that their attorneys have not been helpful for cities on 5G ordinance updates.)
- Speak at public comments at city and county meetings and meet in person with city and county decision makers. Speak to those issues with the strongest science, boil it down to basic terms and concepts, and document the claims you make. For example: Peer-reviewed published science shows harmful effects of cell tower radiation include: fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, anxiety, ringing in the ears, heart problems, learning and memory disorders, increased cancer risk, and more. Children, the ill and the elderly are more vulnerable. This Letter to Sebastopol 5G includes studies and quotes you can use. See also: www.emfscientist.org Studies of radiation impacts on wild birds documented nest abandonment, plumage deterioration and death. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/us_doi_comments.pdf Peer reviewed published science shows millimeter waves adversely affect health. https://goo.gl/gbBKHL More studies here. See also: EU 5G Appeal. International Society of Doctors for Environment 5G Appeal
- Santa Rosa on Link Lane, partly dismantled due to resident protests – the city halted the installation.
Santa Rosa on Sebastopol Road.
- “Small cell” tower is a junkyard on a pole! In reality these often do not look like the representational drawings the industry presents. Click on the photos to the left for a closer look.
- Share important news: Democracy Now reported on an investigation by The Nation “How Big Wireless Made Us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe.” and “How Big Wireless War-Gamed the Science on Risks, While Making Customers Addicted to Their Phones”
- When there is an application pending: Send a letter by mail and email to the decision makers and go to the public meetings to speak out and oppose. Gather others to go to the meeting to also speak out. Make signs for the meeting! Please note: decision makers are often volunteers and they need to be educated about complex EMF science and laws. While some people feel aggressive tactics is the only way to get them to understand, practicing courtesy is also effective. You may want to ask the city to hire an independent RF specialist to prove there is a coverage gap. Here is an independent RF firm: http://www.emfservices.com/cell-towers.htm
- Create a flyer to circulate to let people know what’s happening and where to complain. See this sample flyer to adapt and create your own.